I'm starting to wonder if there is a bigger problem here. I seem to be getting injured a lot more than usual lately. Whether I'm playing soccer, lifting, or running, I always seem to get something which keeps me out for at least of couple days. Even when I was juggling/freestyle the other day I managed to get a groin injury...All the injuries seem to be unrelated aswell. Does anyone know what the problem may be? Thanks.
you sound like my buddy, he's always getting hurt but he was always like that. I didn't realize you could catch this like a cold! ; )
Warm up is essential, naturally. However there is a lot of variables present. Do you do core exercises when in the gym? Do you stretch enough? How about your diet? Do you eat a lot of red meat or fast food? Inflammation in joints and tendons can be caused by a wrong diet, as well as instability in your core. Ultimately, some people just do not have the body for exercise and always get injured. We all have that teammate.
Besides, what all the other posters have said like stretching, warmup; there are two other points I would like to bring up. Do you do injury prevention exercises (pre-habilitation)? The other question is do you do unilateral work, or do you perform most of your movements with a barbell or with both limbs? I would focus you also include both of those areas in your movements. If you continue having these niggling injuries, I would recommend you see a specialist to do a Functional Movement Screen. You most likely have certain movement patterns or repetitive motion that you have been developed over the years that predispose you to these injuries. The specialist can determine where in your flexibility/movement patterns you have impingement, and provide you with corrective exercises.
Thanks for the responses everyone. It depends on the exercise. If it's soccer, I usually juggle for a bit, do some static stretches, then begin playing. When running, I used to do some static stretches then run, but recently I read a couple articles saying that it's best to only stretch after you run. When weight-lifting, I usually do a couple warm-up sets then begin. I do not do core exercises, maybe that's the cause of all these injuries? Do you suggest any exercises? Also I rarely eat junk food. It depends on the exercise, I mostly do barbell for the big compound exercises, but I do also use dumbbells. And I have not done any injury prevention exercises.
Do you play a lot of video games / are very stationary throughout the day? If so try to just be a tiny bit more active in general when your not playing, you would be surprised how injury free that keeps you
First things first, you need to focus on prehabilitation by performing exercises that would make your shoulder joint more stable, your hip cuff more balanced, and your ankles strengthened in all directions. Get some tubing or rubber bands and work your hips by doing 6-way hip. Do inversion, eversion, dorsiflexion of your ankle with a theraband or cable machine. Include bridging and planks when you workout. Stop using barbells, and use DBs only, and perform mostly unilateral movements. So, instead of Barbell Bench, try alternating DB Presses; instead of Barbell Rows, go with the 1 hand variety. Take out squatting, and go with split squats, and lunges when you get more stable. Replace hamstring machine with either Physioball Leg Curls and or 1 leg RDLs. Include cable chops and lifts in your routine to help make your body more stable. You can start using Barbells, when you are more stable and your movement patterns have been corrected. I can go on and on, but if you read my previous posts, you will understand my performance philosophy. We are all taking guesses at what we think might be causing the problem, and our solutions and or recommendations may or may not work. I would always recommended working with a specialist to get screened, and then working on your specific deficiencies.
As an example, you could have muscle imbalances caused by your weight lifting routine. A specialist will check for inflexibilities and muscle imbalances. If your training is causing problems, continuing your training without adjustments will continue your problems rather than eliminate them. Recurring injuries are a "red flag" warning. Listen to dejansavicevic10's advice.
The best way to go without injuries is to make sure that you stretch all your muscles as well as you can and get them warmed up, before doing any type of exercise. Also, making sure you have been eating enough protein and staying hydrated is a big thing too. After exercising, it is always good to do something to cool down like stretch or jog a little and make sure you rest your muscles. Icing sore areas is always a good idea after a long session of exercise.
If you don't mind me asking how old are you? I noticed I tend to be picking up injuries here and there, more so than in the past but I'm now 32 and don't bounce back like I did when I was 19. Also do you allow yourself any rest days?
My nephew is always complaining about his aches and pains he is 18 a baseball pitcher then he pitches and pitches 1 hitters. Frankly, some players like to bitch for what ever reason. I would say give yourself a rest day every other day if you participated in a tough practice on practice day. If your working out a particular body part one day like upper body. Next day work on lower body. Then rest the next day. Warm up before you practice. If it is a cold day warm up for an hour before practice not 15 or 20 minutes before. Then after a hard practice you must do a cool down. Your body will recover a lot faster if you do a cool down.
What types of injuries? Are we talking about a stubbed toe and a broken finger (completely unrelated) or are you injuring different parts of your leg? A sore ankle may be the result of a hip problem. A sore hip may be caused by imbalances in your quad/hamstring. A warm up and cool down are essential. Warm up means "get the muscles warm" before taxing them. Don't do sprints until you have jogged at a moderate pace. Don't start booting a ball 40+ yards until you have knocked it around in a small area for a while. Do you get hurt in training or in games? In a game - what do you do at halftime? Keep moving. Keep your muscles warm. How worn out are your shoes? Try to keep your gear from getting too worn out. (Even if the cleats look good the rest of the shoe may be broken down). Do you ice your injuries (daily)? When was the last time you truly rested for a few weeks? You'd be surprised how much you can heal up by not doing much for a few weeks. It won't totally wreck your fitness and it will give you a chance to recover.
An old rule of thumb that many would disagree with but had medical proof behind it is that "the fittest players receive the least injuries." By this I mean when you are at peak fitness (mental and physical) your body functions fluidly if you get injured a lot and try to do things you use to do back when you were fitter it will result in a chain reaction of injures. That's my .02 cents